We went to Sentinel Dome first. It was about 2.2 miles up and back and took about 2 hours. The hike was pretty pleasant and the views were amazing on the Dome. This was about 45 minutes from the South Entrance.
I was experimenting with InfraRed or fake infrared during the trip. Here is a tree:
Then we drove not too far away and went to Glacier Point. There is not much hiking here just look outs. The parking lot gets very full for both of these spots so I recommend going early or being patient. There is also a gift shop and snack shop here.
Then we drove to Tuolumne Meadows which was very far away on the Northeast portion of the park. We actually had to stop and get gas at one of the in-park gas stations ($$).
One of my favorite parts of the trip was a stop by Tenaya Lake. The lake was just so pretty and peaceful. Felt like I was in the Alps or something. A few brave, again I think Europeans went swimming in the cold water.
Pretty right?
We also stopped by Omstead Point which is another nice look out but did not spend much time there.
We finally made it to the Meadows and it was not too exciting in the summer. We arrived too late to do a mule or horse ride. We had a picnic and relaxed a little and drove about 1.5 hours back to the Valley. It was too late to do any more hikes so we rented bikes and tried to catch a sunset with just mediocre success. :-D Bike rentals are pretty cheap and a lot of people bring their own bikes too. Fairly easy to get around on paved paths. We had dinner again at one of the Valley eateries and caught a movie about the dangers of Yosemite. The Valley is the area of most interest and traffic. It has multiple lodging, hikes (Half Dome, Vernal Falls), and places to eat and do souvenir shopping.
Another long drive back to the hotel.
Tuolumne Meadows: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/tmhikes.htm
Valley: http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/yv.htm
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